Grammy Award winning R&B singer Usher has put his music career on hold to focus on his starring role as Sugar Ray Leonard in Hands Of Stones. While training for his role in the film, Men’s Health caught up the Atlanta singer for a fitness shoot at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn. Below are some highlights and pics:

On keeping his body in shape:

“I train like an athlete every day, believe it or not.”

“My second day I decided to ride to the gym,” 10 miles from his home in Atlanta. “So I rode there. Boxed. Rode the bike back home.”

“Mentally, I’m the type of person who can ignore the pain. Put it somewhere else and allow my body to just go there,” he says. “But I always suffer. You can’t box, ride a bike for 20 miles in the heat—Georgia heat—and then go to the studio and rehearse. That’s not happening.”

“My commitment to this character demands that I not only physically get ready, but also become him,” he says. “The hair, the personality, the manner he conducts himself in—all that. He’s an incredible man.”